Neither of the younger Cougar football squads could get a win on the field against Ripon this past week, though the games were polar opposites.

The JV team pushed an undefeated Ripon squad to the edge, while Ripon’s freshmen overwhelmed the young Cougar frosh squad.

Junior Varsity

Friday night it was the JV boys who battled to a 14-7 loss to the host Indians.

Ripon scored on a 25-yard pass play and the point after attempt was good to make it 7-0 in the first quarter and held that edge at the half. In the third quarter, the Indians converted on a 19-yard rushing play with the kick good, going up 14-0.

But the Cougars did not back down, breaking through with a 12-yard pass from Ethan Butler to Ian Trejo and Carson Criteser putting the extra point through to trim the lead to 14-7. That was as close as they would get though, as Ripon held on for the win.

“Although it’s always tough to lose a rivalry game, the coaching staff is really happy with the effort the team played with all four quarters,” said head coach Brant Rose. “That’s the type of fight we’ve been hoping to see from this group the entire season. That was an undefeated Ripon team that hasn’t been taken to the brink all season. “We’ve known this Escalon group is capable of taking down just about any team, and so it was nice to see them deliver one of their best efforts against what is considered to be the best JV team in the TVL.”

Escalon looks to close out the season on a winning note Friday, Nov. 1 at home as they host Orestimba.

“Despite our current record, I think this sent a message to the league that this Escalon group is capable of being title contenders,” Rose said.

Freshmen

For the freshmen, the scoreboard was an ugly 60-0 by the time the final horn sounded and there was a running clock in the second half. For head coach Joey Costa, it was tough to see his team battered by the visiting Ripon squad on Thursday night, Oct. 24, but it was also tinged with the knowledge that some players were lost to injury during the game and several freshmen have already been moved up to the JV or varsity levels this season.

A couple of players stood out, giving solid efforts, including Ryder Killingsworth, Jack Arata and Carter Cummings.

The freshmen will host Tokay in their season finale on Thursday night, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m.